March 09, 2005

Dessert Caviar

Somehow during my last year of university, I became addicted to cookbooks. I ordered a couple and then I ordered some more. By the end of year, my cookbooks outnumbered my textbooks 15 to 5. Whenever I needed to distract myself from the realities of school, I looked for dishes I wanted to make, and spent countless hours researching things like how to get those colourful stripes in joconde, and how to grill the perfect steak. Unfortunately at the time I lived in a residence where I shared a limited kitchen with a dozen other students. So instead of experimenting and driving all my floormates crazy, I made a list of dishes that I planned to someday prepare.

Over the past two years I've made quite a few of the dishes on my list including butter-poached lobster, Grand Marnier soufflés, and Plaisir Sucré. There are still many dishes that I've yet to cook, including a plethora of truffle and foie gras preparations that I'll only make if I win the lottery or if someone (maybe you) sends me money.

About a month ago, I found myself with the perfect opportunity to prepare a dish that's long been on my list. I had been asked to make a dessert for a Chinese New Year potluck, and I immediately thought of Claudia Fleming's Coconut Tapioca with Coconut Sorbet, Passion Fruit-Pineapple Sorbet, Passion Fruit Caramel, Cilantro Syrup, and a Coconut Tuile. Otherwise known as "Dessert Caviar", this was one of Fleming's signature desserts when she was the pastry chef at New York's Gramercy Tavern.

Although this dessert consists of six components, each one is there for a reason. One of Claudia Fleming's trademarks is that she never sacrifices taste for appearance. No unnecessary garnishes, and no over-the-top architectural masterpieces. In her cookbook The Last Course, she writes: “I don't want my desserts to be flashy or intimidating. I just want them to look harmonious and provide a few small, sweet bites after a wonderful meal... I think the ideal dessert is a few perfect, intense tastes filled with balanced flavors and textures.”

If you make this dessert, you'll almost certainly be delighted by its vibrant and clean flavours, but also by how well everything works together. Essentially it's a study in flavour, texture, and temperature. The combination of the coconut tapioca, passion fruit caramel, and cilantro syrup form a trio of complementary flavours. The contrast between the small and large tapioca, the crispy tuile, and the crunchy passion fruit seeds provide the dish with interesting textures. And finally, the two sorbets add contrast in temperature as well as additional layers of flavour.

The picture I took doesn't really do it justice – I know, it looks more like a puddle of rice pudding. But this is one of the most satisfying desserts I've made so far. I hope you'll give it a try sometime.

Coconut Tapioca with Coconut Sorbet, Passion Fruit-Pineapple Sorbet, Passion Fruit Caramel, and Cilantro SyrupAdapted from The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern by Claudia Fleming

In a medium saucepan, combine milk and sugar. Bring mixture to a simmer over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes or until milk thickens to a sauce consistency. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes.

Fill two large saucepans with water and bring to a boil. Add small tapioca and large tapioca pearls into separate saucepans. Bring the small tapioca to a boil, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until their centres are no longer opaque. Drain tapioca, rinsing with cold water. Boil the large tapioca for 45 minutes, turn off heat and let them steep for 45 minutes, or until their centres are no longer opaque. Drain tapioca, rinsing with cold water.

Add tapioca to the milk mixture, and cover and refrigerate for at least 10 hours or overnight. Remove some of the coconut milk mixture so that milk serves as more of a coating for the tapioca than a soup.

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, coconut, and sugar, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until sugar dissolves. Turn off heat and let mixture cool for 1 hour.

Strain mixture into a bowl, freeze in an ice cream machine, and transfer to freezer to harden. Alternatively, place mixture in freezer, and stir every hour for the next 4 hours, or until smooth and firm.

In a food processor or blender, combine pineapple and ¼ cup sugar and puree until smooth. Wrap the puree in cheesecloth, and squeeze to extract pineapple juice. Measure out 2/3 cup juice for the sorbet, and reserve the rest for another use.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining sugar with 1 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and stir in pineapple juice and passion fruit juice. Refrigerate mixture overnight or at least 3 hours to chill.

Freeze in an ice cream machine, and transfer to freezer to harden. Alternatively, place mixture in freezer, and stir every hour for the next 4 hours, or until smooth and firm.Makes about 4 cups.

In a small saucepan, combine ¼ cup water, sugar, and corn syrup, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil the mixture, swirling the pan occasionally until the mixture turns deep amber and caramelized, about 10 minutes.

Remove the from heat and carefully whisk in the passion fruit juice and butter from a distance (as the caramel may splatter). Whisk the mixture over low heat until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh sieve, and reserve until ready to use, or refrigerate for up to two days.

Before serving, stir in the passion fruit pulp, including the seeds, into the caramel.

Makes about ¾ cup.

Cilantro Syrup

- ¼ cup tightly packed cilantro- 1/3 cup light corn syrup

Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Fill a small bowl with ice cubes and water. Immerse cilantro leaves into the boiling water for 15 seconds, drain, and immerse into ice water. Drain leaves and pat dry with paper towel.

In a food processor or blender, combine the corn syrup and cilantro leaves, and puree. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes and strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve, discarding the solids. Refrigerate the syrup for up to 1 day.

In an electric mixer bowl, combine sugar and butter, and beat with the paddle attachment until the mixture resembles wet sand, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the egg whites and mix until the mixture is homogenous. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

In a small bowl, combine the coconut and flour. Add the coconut-flour mixture to the egg white mixture and mix well. Refrigerate the mixture overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Create a stencil by cutting out rectangular holes from a plastic sheet that’s about the thickness of an ice cream container lid. Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Place the stencil on the sheet and use an offset spatula to spread a thin layer of batter onto the stencil. Remove the stencil, and bake the tuiles in a 325F/160C oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the baking sheet after 8 minutes.

Use a spatula to remove the tuiles, and set on a wire rack to cool. Cool the baking sheet by rinsing it with cold water before using to bake another sheet of tuiles.

Makes about 3 dozen tuiles.

Assembly

Ladle about 1/3 to ½ cup of coconut tapioca into a small shallow glass or bowl (such as a martini glass). Drizzle with passion fruit caramel and drizzle the cilantro syrup around the perimeter of the glass. Place two small scoops or quenelles of passion fruit sorbet and coconut sorbet on the coconut tapioca and top with a coconut tuile.

Comments

Hi Clement,

dessert! cavier! almost sounds too good to be true :) looks and sounds really intriguing, even if it seems to invlove more than just a few steps to prepare, and despite the fact that I personally *loathe* cilantro. I'd still love to try a bite or two of this one.

I also remember, as a high school student, I would be absorbed in cookbooks for hours and hours when I was supposed to study for exams... and even made a small dessert or something in the midnight when my families were fast asleep. Good old days.

As noted that evening, I believe everyone in attendance will forever remember me as the-one-who-invited-the-friend-who-made-that-amazing-dessert. That'll be my legacy... ignore all those years of education < sniff >. Thank you once again for sharing your talents, efforts and *good taste* with us! We were all very happy to be your (sweet tooth) guinea pigs.

I like the idea of making a list of dishes you'd like to make. Too often, I'll flip through a cookbook, see a dish I'd like to make at some point, and then forget about it. The list might get a tad long, but it would give me more ideas for dishes to try.

Ahhh tremendous Clement. I have to admit too to timewasting at Uni with cookbooks I got from the library but given a choice between Auditing 203 or a Roald Dahl book of recipes and a book of medieval Spanish food, well yes I think I scraped through with a C. Around that time I was given the Cordon Bleu at home and dreamt and dreamt until I got the funds and the opportunity of Toni's 22nd to make Filet de Veau en Croute. An unsuitable 40C summer day but we moved the table into the garden and the dodgy fridge kind of got the gateaux OK. All very fine apart from the nasty argument about train staion argument.

Hi Chika - I've never had caviar before, so I think this is as close as I'm going to get at least for the time being. I found the cilantro syrup to be fairly subtle, and I'm sure this dessert would still taste great without it.

I too found myself absorbed in cookbooks when I was supposed to be studying. Eventually, I had to force myself to study elsewhere (away from my cookbooks), otherwise I would have never gotten anything done.

Hi Renée - Thanks so much for inviting me to your potluck. It was great meeting everyone, and all the food was very delicious. I'm always looking for an excuse to try out new dishes, so I hope we can do it again sometime.

Derrick - I find that keeping a list is a great way to keep track of what I've done so far, and the many preparations and techniques that I've yet to try. Realistically, I don't think I'll ever get through my list. But I hope to eventually develop a diverse enough repertoire to be able to combine different techniques, and perhaps even taste ingredient pairings in my mind before using them.

Katie - I don't know how I was able to manage when I didn't have an ice cream maker. Both sorbets in this recipe are great on their own, or together with the tapioca and syrups.

Jessica - It's not really all that complicated - it just takes some time. But trust me, it's well worth the effort!

Anthony - Thanks for reminiscing. I too did the same thing, except for me it was a struggle between Systems and Signals Analysis and the French Laundry Cookbook. At the time I didn't have the resources to cook from that cookbook, so I told my friends that I would cook for them if they came to visit me the next year. Eight dinner parties later, I'm not sure if that was the best thing to say.

Hi Clement. I can definately relate to cookbooks-outnumbering-textbooks syndrome. When I moved away from college, I left behind most of my textbooks (as though I'd ever need those again) and thought, "Great! I'll need fewer boxes now!" Of course, I failed to take into account 4 full boxes of cookbooks and recipe clippings and printouts... I'm half glad I didn't make a list of things I wanted to make. I'd have to live to be 150 to do them all.

Anthony - I didn't realize that corn syrup was so unhealthy. So thanks for telling me, otherwise I would have probably started to use it uncontrollably, unaware of its dire consequences.

Moira - Definitely give it a try, it's a very refreshing dessert. Btw, congratulations on winning this month's DMBLGiT award!

Reid - Thanks. I think I'm obsessed with desserts too. Looking at my recent posts, it must seem as though I only cook and eat desserts.

Nic - I'm not sure how I'll manage to move all my cookbooks and kitchen equipment when I eventually leave my place. But of course that's the last thing I think of when I buy them. I agree with you - I don't think I'll ever get through my list either, if only because I add two or three recipes for each one I try.

I became addicted to cookbooks. I ordered a couple and then I ordered some more.

I adore cookbooks. I've collected so many over the years that my shelves are threatening to collapse under the immense weight. Whenever I go to the bookstore, I have to force myself to avoid the cookbook section or I simply won't be able to resist the urge to buy more. It's a sickness, I think. In fact, I love cookbooks so much that I even wrote my own!

Hi Clement - this looks amazing, I can almost imagine the delicate, subtle flavour. I found this book a while ago and fell in love with it! I think I have to order soon... please let me know if there are any other favourites from it.

Hi PJ - I can imagine that even if you only add a few cookbooks every year, it can really start to add up fast. Your cookbook sounds very impressive and down to earth. I enjoy cookbooks that are more than just a collection of recipes.

Hi Keiko - You should try it sometime! If you order the Last Course, I'd highly recommend the Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Strawberry Rosé Gelée. Actually, every recipe I've tried so far has turned out very well. I heard that Claudia Fleming had each recipe tested four or five times, instead of the normal or one or two.

What a wonderful desert. And wonderful photos too! I's nice to see another Canadian food blogger! I hope your absence from blogging is only temporary, as I really enjoy your writing. I've started a list of Canadian food bloggers on my blog. Please have a look and let me know if I've missed any that you know of!

I just came across your site & you have the MOST beautiful recipes, photos etc. I love to cook/bake & this is really amazing. I am going to try out a few recipes. I have bought 4 ice cream makers & for some reason everytime I put the ice cream in the freezer afterwards they turn hard as a rock. Do you have any suggestions? The one Im using now is a cuisinart.